The present invention relates to a novel multi channel voltage controller which includes trim adjustments for each channel.
Voltage controllers or dimmers for lighting systems have been employed in the past. Generally, such dimmers use a rotary or slide switch to control the lighting level. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,746,923 describes a linearly moveable slider knob to control the lighting level in a space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,546 illustrates a sliding voltage control operator used in conjunction with an on-off switch which permits the user to predetermine or preset the lighting level. In this case, operation of the on-off switch returned the lights to a level set by the slider. Both dimmer switches shown in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,746,923 and 4,455,546 patents include a trim adjustments to set either the high or low limits of the slider dimmer operation and, thus, the high or low intensities levels of lights controlled by the slider.
Dimmer systems have also been manufactured to control multiple channels of lighting. U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,660 illustrates an example of one of many such systems. Normally, a multiple channel system includes a low voltage controller which is physically separated from a high voltage dimmer module or panel. The lights or other voltage consuming loads are connected directly to the high voltage dimmer module. In the past, the high and low trim adjustments have been found on the remotely located dimmer module, which is considered an inconvenience since a single person must travel back and forth between the controller and dimmer module to properly set the trim characteristics of the dimming system.
A multiple channel dimming controller having conveniently located trim adjustments would be an advance in the lighting field.